Just recently, the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft was successfully launched into orbit. Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu, the three astronauts aboard Shenzhou-14, made history by being the first crew to visit China’s space station after its in-orbit construction was completed.

I, too, had aspirations of joining NASA when I was a kid. Once, I even constructed a cardboard spaceship toy because I so much wanted to travel to outer space and gaze upon the stars.

I’ve always been captivated by “star-chasing” tales, even though I’ll never get to read one that ends with my boyhood wish coming true.

What does it feel like to spend almost two decades trying to make your dreams come true, only to be constantly let down? Deng Qingming was a back-up for a combined 24 years and 10 months after he was passed up to be a crew member on the Shenzhou-9, -10, and -11 spacecraft. Deng’s career before to Shenzhou-15 had been a roller coaster of high hopes and crushing disappointments, despite the fact that he had received the same amount and quality of training as everyone else.

Source: Prnewswire